


flowers for the hokage!

by tenzosgarden



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fluff, M/M, i wrote this for my OWN peace of mind, orochimaru is in JAIL!, takes place after the war, there is ONLY fluff this is humiliating!, there is like a GRAM of angst? no literally nothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:07:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23369728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tenzosgarden/pseuds/tenzosgarden
Summary: The war had ended and a long, peaceful era was in sight. But for Tenzō, going to congratulate the new Sixth Hokage proved to be harder than he was anticipating.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Yamato | Tenzou
Comments: 10
Kudos: 63





	flowers for the hokage!

**Author's Note:**

> no trigger warnings this is just smiles all around i'm telling you 
> 
> i hope you enjoy!! <3

Tenzō really liked poppies. 

He liked that they bloomed in late spring, his favorite time of the year. He liked their contrast with surrounding blues and greens. He liked how easy they were to grow, all he needed was to touch the earth and suddenly they’d come sprouting up between his fingers. 

But what he loved most about poppies was that they were Kakashi’s favorite flower. 

Today though, just looking at them was making him sick. Arranged in a makeshift bouquet and being strangled in his fist, they were almost taunting him. 

The Fourth Great Shinobi War had ended a little over three weeks ago, which had been plenty of time for some major changes to come about in Konoha. One of which was the Sixth Hokage’s inauguration, which every Leaf citizen, certainly including Tenzō, had attended. He already was aware that Kakashi was alive before then, he’d asked almost everyone that would potentially have an answer. Still, the relief he felt when he saw his friend standing over the village, all clad in red and white; it was immeasurable. 

He’d been telling himself every day since then to actually visit Kakashi, congratulate him in person, bring him a gift. Once the excuses started outnumbering the reasons however, it was nearly impossible for him to leave his house. _He’s way too busy, he won’t have time. It’ll just bother him. He doesn’t want to see you. He doesn’t care about your congratulations._

In reality, the main reason he finally made it to the Hokage’s tower was a totally selfish one. He just missed Kakashi; and even if he’d just brush Tenzō off, at the very least they’d see each other. 

And so he went; up the stairs and through the hall and to the double doors on the right. It was embarrassing, the flowers in his grip would probably wilt by the time he actually knocked. But who knew if he’d ever be able to make it this far again.

“Yeah?” Just hearing the muffled voice was enough right then, but his free hand was already shoving the door open before he could decide to go back. 

There were two stacks of paper, rising nearly to the ceiling. Kakashi sat between them, drinking something from a steaming cup. He looked surprised, to say the least, which left Tenzō desperate to find something to say. He was the one that'd made the grand entrance, after all

“Hi-” He began, noticed the hat hanging off the edge of Kakashi’s chair, then started up again, “-wait no! I mean- Lord Sixth!” 

Kakashi let out a sigh that became more of a chuckle towards the end before standing up and going over to his friend, who was clearly having a hard time. 

“Come on Tenzō, I just barely got you to stop calling me ‘captain’ and now you’ve switched to ‘lord?’” His cloak was a little too big, dragging across the tiles as he walked. Kakashi had always seemed so tall in the past, but there was something different about him today.

“I’m- Well you’re the Hokage, aren’t you?” Tenzō smiled, it was like his uneasiness completely dissipated. Kakashi, now standing in front of him, only shook his head. 

“I don’t like it when _anyone_ calls me that, and especially not you,” he crossed his arms and grinned. No, he was definitely still exactly the same. 

“Alright, Kakashi.” It was pathetic, he couldn’t even bring himself to tease his friend a little. Tenzō, overjoyed and doing his best to hide it, had really, really missed him. 

“I’m sorry, I thought I saw you in the crowd during the inauguration, but I really wanted to come talk to you, I just-” 

“No, no! It’s fine, you’re so busy now you don’t have time for stuff like that, don’t worry about it, really!” It’d only been like, two minutes, and Kakashi, the Hokage, was apologizing. Tenzō had no idea what he was so worried about in the first place.

“Come on Tenzō, don’t give me that. I always have time for you.” Truthfully, they could’ve seen each other much sooner. After the battle ended, Tenzō was well enough to stay with the rest of the Konoha shinobi. While at the same time, Kakashi was rushed to receive medical attention because of how serious his injuries and chakra loss were. Even so, he’d been out of the hospital before becoming Hokage for a few days; Tenzō regretted not coming by sooner. 

“Well, I brought these for you- do you have somewhere to put them?” There was hardly any open space anywhere on the desk or the shelves, there wasn't really a reason to ask. 

“I’ll set them over there for now, I’m sure there’s gotta be a vase, you know, around.” Since Tenzō grew the flowers himself, they’d be fine without water for about a week without showing signs of withering. His chakra kept them alive for so long, and it was also what made them more vibrant than anything blooming in the wild. “Thank you, by the way. No one ever brings me poppies because they’re ‘too simple,’ whatever that hell that means.” 

“I just know you like ‘em,” His face would be sore from smiling by the time he got out of there.

“Ahh, now I feel bad Tenz, I didn’t get you anything.”

“Are you kidding me? Those are to congratulate you, _you’re_ the Hokage here!” 

“Yeah right, some Hokage I am. I’m just a placeholder ‘till Naruto’s old enough.” A placeholder? Kakashi was always humble, even considering his rank and achievements, and Tenzō adored that about him. But this wasn’t modesty, it was flat-out self depreciation. He’d rolled his eyes and scoffed when he said it, but he meant it regardless. 

“What are you talking about? Lady Tsunade could’ve gotten anyone to do that. There’s a reason she picked you specifically, right now, with the state of the nations, a ‘placeholder’ won’t do.” Tenzō didn’t plan on ranting like this, but he wasn’t about to let it slide either. “We need someone who can use diplomacy, negotiate, and actually keep our relations peaceful. We just fought a war and everyone’s struggling, things could get tense in seconds.” 

“I know, I know. The thing is, I don’t know if I’ll be able to meet their expectations. I mean- I’ll try, but-”

“Kakashi, listen.” Tenzō knew his friend wasn’t fishing for attention or reassurance, and he really did appreciate Kakashi trusting him enough to say these things. But now it was his turn to be honest. “You’ve become the Sixth Hokage because no one else could get the job done like you. A lot of people, not just Lady Tsunade, thought that; and I agree with all of them.” The other didn’t say anything in response, just blinked once and waited for Tenzō to keep talking. “I’ve known you for, I dunno, fifteen years now? I’ve seen the way you lead. Both in the ANBU and on team seven, I’ve seen it firsthand. Your strategies are brilliant, you support and listen to your comrades, and you can act indifferent all you want, but I can still tell how compassionate you are. I don’t think there’s anyone else more qualified for this, I really don’t.” After realizing how long he’d been talking for, Tenzō cut himself off and looked up at his companion for a reaction.

“You really think that?” Kakashi’s voice was quiet and disbelieving, but of course he thought that, of course he did.

“I really do. I think you deserve this position so much,” he paused for a moment, “and it might not really be much coming from me, but, I’m really proud of you for getting here, Kakashi.” 

Tenzō had seen him at his worst. Back in the ANBU, just before the Third Hokage relieved him of his duty, Kakashi was suffering. Tenzō was still figuring out emotions and reactions at the time, but even he could tell. The mistakes during missions became more frequent. The circles under his eyes got darker, he wasn’t sleeping. He only spoke when necessary. By the time Tenzō had to start reminding him to take a drink of water, he'd nearly gone to the Hokage himself. Luckily it didn’t come to that, and while it was miserable without his captain there, nothing compared to the pure relief he felt. And then nothing compared to how happy his students were when seeing him out of the hospital. And now, nothing compared to seeing him in the too-big cloak draped over his shoulders. He truly had come so, incredibly far.

“‘Might not mean much from you’ my ass,” Kakashi stepped a little closer, “If not much from you, then who else?” Then a little closer again, “Thank you, it means the absolute most, you know.” He knew just as well as what horrors he'd gone through back then. Although to Kakashi, it seemed like those were the things that made him unfit to lead a village. Hearing someone, hearing _Tenzō_ say that he was proud, it made his heart swell. 

“You don’t have to thank me, I was just saying what’s on my mind.” He loved Kakashi’s smile, the way his eyes crinkled up, he loved it so much.

They looked at each other for a moment, both trying to come up with something to say. Lord Sixth himself happened to be the one to break the silence. 

“Tenzō?” His voice had gotten quiet again. 

“Yeah?” Tenzō prayed that he’d stall for a while. 

“Do you know what you’re gonna do now? I mean, as a shinobi.” 

He’d been mulling over that same question since the moment the war ended. Going back to the ANBU wasn’t an option, it had been too long. Team seven didn’t need him anymore, Naruto had perfect control over the Ninetails chakra and wasn't in need of any help. He wasn’t sure he could lead another Genin team on his own, he wouldn’t have Kakashi’s help this time. So he was lost, for the first time Tenzō had absolutely no idea where he should go. In the past, someone always needed him for something, he had a purpose because of his unique jutsu. But that was no longer the case, it seemed.

“No, I’m- I’m still thinking about it right now.” He couldn’t just retire yet, could he? 

“Do you wanna work with me?” Wait.

“What?”

“Like, my advisor. You know, my right-hand man. I don’t have one yet because I was actually gonna ask you first.” Tenzō honestly wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not. 

“Me? You want it to be- are you sure there isn’t someone else you’d rather have?” For some reason this made Kakashi laugh, his breathy, all-too familiar laugh. 

“Of course I do, I respect you the most out of anyone, I thought you knew that.” Suddenly this started sounding oddly familiar. 

“Wait a minute, you’re not just sweet-talking me into doing all your work, are you? Like that one time at Ichiraku?” He didn’t laugh this time though. 

“Not this time, Tenz. I’m being serious,” he paused and reached for the other’s hands, pulling them closer still. “I can’t imagine anyone else more fit for the job. You've always helped me, always given me the best advice, even when you didn't know what to say, you still manage to make me feel better. I have no idea how you do it, but there's no one I trust more than you.” His smile quickly faded upon realizing what he just said, and he tightened his grip on Tenzō’s hands before speaking again. “But please, please don’t feel obligated to do this. You can take as much time as you want to think about what path you wanna follow, you can take a break, hell, you can retire. I never want you to feel forced to do anything ever again because I’m sure you of all people have felt like that plenty of times before. So please, only agree if you truly want to, I’m just giving you an option, okay?” 

The hands holding his own, the red petals resting on the desk behind them, the reflected light in Kakashi’s eyes, now both equally as dark, it brought Tenzō peace. Everything was pushing him forward all at once, into the arms of somebody, somebody who truly cared. So much fear, so much longing had been building up inside him during the past months; it had felt like everything was happening all at once.

So now, all he needed was this, this safety he could always count on. 

He was happy, he didn’t remember the last time he felt this much joy, it was like a drug after struggling through the war and the Akatsuki and the nights spent lying awake, thinking of what to do next. But it was ridiculous, absurd. An ANBU level Jonin clinging to the Hokage like some child. 

Tenzō stepped back before even giving Kakashi a chance to hug back. He was just offered a prestigious job position, this was no time to act so foolish. 

“Sorry about that, I wasn’t thinking, I was just-” he cut off to take a breath, there was only one thing he needed to say. “I’ll do it, of course I’ll do it.” 

To his surprise though, he wasn’t the only fool there. 

Fortunately, Kakashi was much more forgiving and only tugged his friend close rather than throwing his arms around Tenzō in desperation. And then he was home again. 

“You’re sure?” 

“I’m sure.” He pulled back a little so they faced each other and sighed out of relief. 

“Thank God, I literally had no idea who to ask next.” 

“Oh, so you just knew I wouldn’t say no, huh?” Kakashi smiled but didn’t say anything else, just brought up his hands, one to lay against Tenzō’s cheek and one to smooth back his hair. Before letting his bangs fall back to where they were, he left a soft kiss on his forehead.

“No, that’s not it,” he let his arms circle back around the other’s waist before continuing. “I was just really hoping you’d say yes.” This only prompted Tenzō to roll his eyes and settle his head against Kakashi’s shoulder. 

That was, until something caught his attention. 

“Kakashi?”

“Mmm?” He hummed, gently swaying the two of them back and forth. 

“You still have to do all that paperwork over there, don’t you?” The swaying stopped. 

“I do yeah, but it won’t take me as long with a little _help-_ ” He couldn’t even finish before hearing Tenzō’s groan. 

“Is it too early to quit?” And then Kakashi separated them ever so slightly to link their gazes. 

“It’d be too early if you ever quit, Tenz.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading :(( it means so much literally i am deadass like there is nothing that means more at all. it's like when tenzo said he was proud of kakashi that is what i feel like when ppl read my fics i am so serious rn
> 
> that was weird anyway thank you again <3
> 
> come vibe on twitter! i'm @kakashyee and i'm always there acting a fool


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